UEFA have announced that Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini has been handed a three-match ban following his criticism of Swedish referee Jonas Eriksson.

The European governing body recently confirmed that they would be looking into comments made by the Chilean following his side's 2-0 defeat to Barcelona in the first leg of their round-of-16 tie in the Champions League.

After the match on February 18, Pellegrini accused the match official of favouring Barca during the tie, while also questioning why a Swedish referee was put in charge of the high-profile encounter.

UEFA have announced that Pellegrini will serve a three-match ban, with one game suspended for two years, which means that the coach will not be on the touchline for City's return leg at Camp Nou on March 12.

A statement from UEFA said that Pellegrini "may follow the game from the stands only. He may not enter the dressing room, tunnel or technical area before or during the match, and he may not communicate directly or indirectly with his players and/or technical staff during the game."

The decision can be appealed.